Goodbye my Lover, Goodbye my Friend
by thechosenMay
Summary: What if Tom Riddle was not the person he was supposedly born to be?What if it was because of the loss of the someone who saw beyond his outer shield of hate?Someone he actually ever loved?What if this was the loss of a person which made him Lord Voldemort
1. Do You Know Me?

Summary: What if Lord Voldemort wasn't all that he was seen to be? What if what he became was not because of the character he was supposedly born to be? What if it was all caused by someone he actually loved in his youth? The loss of this person who reasoned with him, who saw through his outer shield of hate, who actually found something in him no one ever saw… What if this was the loss which made him into Lord Voldemort?

_Chapter 1:_

It was Cari-Anna's fifth year at Hogwarts and was in Ravenclaw. Carri-Anna Lee to be precise. She wasn't exactly what you would call… "Attractive". To everyone, she was another one of those bespectacled freaks. She had ordinary brownish black straight hair which she always kept in a tight braid. Her eyes weren't that bad. They were nice and large but were kept, true beauty hidden behind a thick framework called : Spectacles.

No one really took notice of her. She wasn't in any form of cliques or anything. She kept to herself and was quiet most of the time. She lived up to any expectations bestowed on a Ravenclaw the minute he or she was sorted: good grades. She was nice, yes, kind, yes, good character and all. But….

_God gives and takes. Good grades don't guarantee good looks ,_was one of her mottos and what she lived by everytime she looked into a mirror. An ordinary plain jane, never attractive. Every time she walked down corridors and went from class to class, she would hug her books close to her chest, dip her head down and walk straight. She never really had much confidence in herself, always too shy to speak out except during lessons (when she asked questions).

Overall, she was this innocent (but oh-so-plain and uninteresting) girl who was every teacher's dream student. She never cared for boys like other girls did. She never found the looks of the opposite gender intriguing or worth gawping at. What mattered to her was that who ever she dated or married had a good heart. That was probably why she did not swoon over Tom Riddle like other girls did.

The only time he probably ever noticed her was when she sneezed loudly in the library, both hands cupped to her face, her two magnified eyes looking around the area in shock and embarrassment. All he ever did was to look up from his text book, quill poised in his hand, stare at Carri-Anna for a while, look back down, and carry on with his work. She blinked foolishly and carried on with whatever she was doing, not knowing that he even looked up from his work.She was always willing to help another fellow friend in need, it was just that she was never given the opportunity to do so. Just that... No one ever really consulted her...

_He _on the other hand, Tom Riddle, that is, was quiet, sly, cunning, unkind, uncaring, extremely and unusually talented, and was practically emotionless. He always had this group of followers around him, yet he was not popular or famous of any sort. He always ignored the girls who continuously fawn around him. It was as if he did not have time for girls, for anything. All he cared was about himself. Getting the best grades. It was as if he had this immense goal in his life to be the greatest wizard ever known to the whole mankind.

* * *

"Thiz izzzn't your best Mizz Lee," the grumpy Professor Hardback said, shoving Carri (Carri-Anna) back her essay,"Dreadvful," she paused dramatically,"I vant it REEEDONE by tomorrow. A fffffull, 12 foot ezzs-ay , " she paused, "To be submited to me, _in the morning. _And **zon't give mezat doleful look, **tiz not going to vork,"she snapped, turning away to hand out the rest of the essays. 

Carri-Anna looked back down at her essay. T . She was horror stricken. She _never _got lower than an A before. Never. The thing about Professor Hardback was that she picked on her. And in those times, Hufflepuff teachers picked on Ravenclaw students, Slytherins on Gryffindor and vice versa. There was no escaping. First it started out with an three A's, then four P's, and now a T. It was absolutely obvious why Hardback gave her the poor result, but it wasn't to Carri-Anna. You see, Carri-Anna was this naive girl who thought that everybody had good in them. So much to the extent that they never did bad things, this was probably why she never understood people who murdered, stole or robbed. So basically, she thought that the problem was her. Her and her studies. She could not take it anymore.

Class was dismissed and every body sprinted out of the classroom and out onto the fresh, crisp smelling lawn. School was out and everyone was happy, not unless your name was Carri-Anna. She walked slowly out of class, eyes fixated on that large, ugly stamped T being chopped, ithad faint traces of a circle around it. Her shallow, shuddering gasps were becoming more audible by the footstep out. She grasped the long roll of parchment and brought it close to her chest, closing her eyes and dramatically allowing tears to spill out from her eyes, staining the bottom of her extremely thick and large spectacles, looking down to the cold, stone floor. She just could not understand why someone could be so mean.

Suddenly, a white tissue appeared out of no where. Without thinking, she grabbed it, removing her specs, and burried her face into the soft, white fabric and wailed.

_Cute, _thought the person who gave her the tissue before stalking away.

She looked up, surprised, wanting to find the person who had given her the comforting piece of tissue paper. All she saw was a tall boy with thick, black and slightly wavy black hair walking away, books tucked in one hand while the other was in his pocket. He looked so familiar, even from the back, she just could not put her finger on where she had seen him before...

"Tom Riddle...?" she said softly, yet uncertainly...

Why had he offered her the tissue? It wasn't in his nature : an uncaring, unkind, unloving, unsincere, everything horrible in one way or another guy to offer a stammering, stuttering, crying girl a tissue...  



	2. Saviour

_Chapter 2:_

One thing about our dear Carri-Anna was that she was a devout Christian. She believed in her faith very strongly. Everyday she wore this rather, erm, large cross around her neck and kept it tucked in her shirt. She believed that she felt the Lord's presence around her, always, guiding and supporting her where she needed.

That day, like every other boring day for Carri-Anna, she walked from her last class and back to her dormitory.

"Hey look! It's the geek thing!" a group of Slytherins jeered.

They surrounded her and tugged at her clothes and at her eye wear.

"What's with the glasses freak?" a burly boy asked as the large group of them laughed.

_Just walk on, keep your cool, don't bother about them. They will ignore you after a while Carri-Anna, don't bother about them, _she told herself.

They didn't.

"What's with the pig tail?" The burly boy asked, pulling her back by her hair.

Her eyes watered with pain as her hand grasped around her braid.

"You like Manchu's huh?" the boy asked, grabbing her soft hair and pulling her close to his ugly face.

"I'm asking you! YOU LIKE MANCHUS?"

She gasped and shut her eyes tight, causing fresh tears to emerge from her eyes. Her cross was thrown out of her blouse due to the force the boy used to yank her head.

"What do we have here?" the boy said, "A cross? My my my…" he said, yanking it from her neck and fingering it, "This should fetch a considerable price…"

"Psst, Victor, _prefect!"_ one of his minions whispered.

The group of cowards immediately sprinted off in the opposite direction, dropping the cross beside her and revealing a very much hurt and crying Carri-Anna (who was pushed onto the floor amidst the flurry) whose books were scattered on the floor around her. Her hair was disarranged and a lock of her fringe covered her crying face.

Apparently, the bunch of morons didn't notice the colour tie the prefect was wearing was green and silver. One of them. A Slytherin.

She looked up and saw Tom Riddle looking at her with those same, cold, emotionless black eyes. Distorting his handsome features and sneering at her pathetic state on the floor, he walked on.

As he walked, she turned and looked at him. He had managed to chase away those bullies. It didn't matter to her how he treated her because to her, he was now her hero…


	3. The True Meaning of Love

Really sorry to my HP ff fans. I haven't been updating my HP fics. Honestly, I was rushing off to write the first few chapters of real unsuccessful stories. So here's Chapter 3.

_Chapter 3:_

Carri-Anna sat underneath the large oak tree with a Transfuguration book clutched in her hand, reading the enlightening contents within the pages. The cool breeze caressed her cheeks, whipping stray strands of hair around her face.

She looked up and saw Tom Riddle and his usual bunch of followers, seated in a tight knit circle. Their facial expressions were serious and business like. Even Bellatrix Lestrange didn't have her usual smirk on her face.

Her attention was diverted from her book, to them, to a small Hufflepuff first year being bullied by a bunch of Slytherin and Ravenclaw boys and a girl. Their wands were whipped out on the poor boy who was cowering in fear against the walls. The racket made and the sadistic laughter was difficult to ignore and was loud, raucous and attention seeking.

Many people noticed but decided not interfere. They didn't like to for fear they would join the boy sooner or later.

She looked over at Tom Riddle again. This was ridiculous. He was a _prefect. _How could _he _allow this to happen.

Shouts were aroused again and a pleading voice was heard. She winced as if the pain inflicted on the boy was ten times worse on her body. She couldn't take it anymore.

She shut the book and walked towards the group of problematic asses.

"Leave that boy alone if you know what's good for you!" she said in a loud, slightly wavering voice.

The tallest and burliest boy turned around, followed by the rest of his group. A Slytherin. Typical. Just then, she thought that standing up to them was a really bad idea.

"What did you say?" he asked in a dangerously soft voice, wand still in hand.

"I said, leave that boy alone, or else-"

"Or else what? You will run off in tears?" scoffed the girl with messy pony tail.

Swallowing hard, she gave her last shot at defending herself (now that the boy had taken the opportunity to run).

"I'll have- I'll have you know that- That there is a _prefect _just by the lake," she said, looking at (in her perception) 'the worst and most irresponsible' prefect in the entire castle, _Tom. Marvolo. Riddle._

The whole group burst into peals of laughter.

"Who? Tom?" a Ravenclaw asked, clutching a stitch in his side.

"Of-"she paused for a split second, "Of course!"

"Dream on little girl," the burly Slytherin said, grinning in a malicious manner.

She drew her wand, pointing it first at the leader, then randomly at his cronies by his side. She was outnumbered.

"Take your best shot, little girly," he said, his grin still intact.

"_Protego_!"

He was reeled backwards and slammed against the wall.

She gave a gasp which was hardly concealable. Even _she _herself didn't know that she could produce a spell like that.

"I- I- didn't- I didn't-" she stuttered.

"You've asked for it," said a roguish like girl, advancing on Carri-Anna.

"What happened here?" asked a level yet impressive and dominating voice.

The group parted to reveal a dazed ring leader with a steady flow of blood from his nose.

Tom walked briskly forward. He didn't like this. He didn't like this at all.

"Who did this to Rudolphus!" he demanded angrily, furious at the fact that his fellow 'follower' had been beaten so easily.

"She did it!" said a Ravenclaw, accusing Carri-Anna.

The rest, of course, agreed in unison.

She took a few steps back in horror.

"Detention," he said softly.

"But I-"

"Enough!" he said silencing her, "You there! Bring him to the hospital wing," the group followed the injured bully mutely as Toms own little group of friends nodded towards him before walking away back to the castle.

"But I-" Carri-Anna attempted once again.

"A thousand lines," he said trying hard to conceal his anger.

"Of what! I didn't do anything to him! Well, I did, but it was in defence! Of _myself_!" she said, adding shrill to the last word.

"You know what to write!" he hissed before turning around to walk away.

"You know what?" she said to him, "You're a terrible prefect. You ought not to be one. You abuse your power, you're unfair, unjust! _Irresponsible_,"

He turned around furiously, eyes burning with anger.

"_What did you say?_" he said in a dangerously soft voice.

"How could you just _sit _there when you knew full well that that poor first year boy was being bullied by those sixth year asses?"

"You-" he said, taking a few steps towards her.

"You didn't bother to listen to _my _side of the-" she carried on with a more confident voice.

"I'm warning you, you-"

"You don't deserve that badge _at all_! You don't _love _the students nor the school as other prefects do! You don't do your part in keeping our study environment safe! You only _love_ being in control of things you shouldn't be! You don't even-"

"I'm warning you! You _mudblood!"_

A sharp intake of breath was heard.

He had always known her to be the quiet pupil who was easily pushed around and bullied. He couldn't take this lash out just lying down.

"What is love to you?" he asked, advancing onto her and glaring, trying to stare her down.

"Love is a mutual feeling you have for someone or something!" she said, standing her ground as he kept on walking to wards her.

"_Love is- a deep, tender feeling you have, an affection_!" she said determinedly, a fiery blush rising to her cheeks.

He kept on walking towards her.

"_Love is a desire you have, for a person! Or something else_!" It spread to her neck, still standing her ground.

He kept on walking.

"_Love is something- it is an indescribable feeling_!" she ended, with his face barely inches away from hers and their bodies grazing each other ever so slightly.

She did not withdraw her stare from his, determined not lose.

Seconds passed and soon turned into minutes.

"In my perception, love, is nothing, but an _illusion_," he said,gently stroking a lock of her fringe,drilling the last word into her, wanting her to remember it all her life, before walking away, leaving her standing in the courtyard like a solitude tree in a storm.


	4. Thank You

_Chapter 4:_

Carri-Anna (Anna) pulled her cloak around her tighter and tucked her multiple scarves into her shirt neatly as she walked through the court yard with winds that cut across her cheeks and snow glissading around her.

All Anna wanted was warmth and something hot to drink. The cold was beginning to eat into her.

Then she saw them. A whole group of them walking towards her.

Not again… 

"Hey Lee! We have something to settle!" said the ring leader.

"Erm… We do? Look, I've already arranged my time in detention, I scheduled for Monday to polish every cup in the-" she said nervously, walking backwards as he continued forwards towards her.

The ring leader stared at her into her eye, nose almost touching hers as she came to a stop as her back was pressed against a pine tree.

"I meant about _embarrassing _me in public!"

"But I-"

He grabbed her by her collar and shoved her against the prickly bark of the tree.

"You're gonna pay!" he hissed into her face, flecks of spit spraying her face.

He reeled back his right fist and was about to punch her when…

BAM

She jinxed him.

Two of his friends rushed forward to help him as his eyes watered in pain.

"You… You…" he muttered hoarsely in utter pain.

"I-!" she exclaimed.

She had done it again- something she thought she was never capable of.

"What is going on here?" shouted a loud noise over the winds.

_Of all times! _Anna thought with rage as Tom Riddle came walking quickly into the court yard.

Tom checked his fallen friend and took two steps back, surveying them- bullies and Anna herself.

She felt his sharp look falter on her, only to be quickly withdrawn to Rudolphus who was still on his knees.

"Detention," he said in a soft voice.

"_WHAT!" _Annashouted in disbelief. That was the second time that week she had heard that outrageous word aimed at her. So she thought.

"_THAT IS- THAT IS UNFAIR! YOU BIASED, DIRTY, UNRIGHTEOUS UNSCRUPULOUS-" _She shouted in rage.

Tom fixed her with a piercing glare before he interrupted, hissing, "Not you!"

Anna stopped, momentarily stymied.

"N-N-No-Not M-Me?" she asked in a disbelieving, quavering voice.

Rudolphus looked up at Tom from where he was kneeling in pain with watering eyes.

"Next Wednesday- at the Trophy Room. If I catch you picking on other students again it's a trip to the Headmasters room," Tom said before walking away.

Anna's eyes were widened in shock. After around ten seconds, she uprooted herself from where she stood and proceeded on back into the castle.

**BORDER BREAK.**

Classroom devoid of students and the corridors were deserted. It was the holidays and only three students per house stayed back in school. Tom, for one reason, she did not want to go back to the orphanage. Anna, because her parents were scheduled to fly to Rome- a place she particularly didn't like. The rest were just staying for a few weeks before going home.

Anna sat by the freezing window in the library, enjoying the cold. The wind was getting stronger and stronger. The pages of her book flew.

"Oh my," she said, jumping down and trying to close the window.

Tom Riddle was walking past the shelves, reading a book, when he caught sight of Anna desperately trying to shut the window.

Closing his book, he hurried forward with his wand, attempting to close the window. No use. Madam Pince had put some enchantment on it, determined not to let the students get the better of her library by using magic in its premises.

He put a hand on Anna's, pushing the window close. His arm pressed against her shoulders and face merely inches away from hers.

After five minutes of grueling torture, they managed to close the window together.

Anna pushed her sweaty brow out of her eyes, collapsing onto the floor and leaning against the wall.

Picking up her book which had fallen on the floor, she looked at him, saying, "Th- Thanks. Couldn't have done it without you," she said, attempting to smile.

He nodded mutely as he turned away. From the corner of his eye, he watched as she pulled her cloak tightly around herself, breathing out frost as she read her book.

Anna suddenly felt very warm, as if she were sitting by a fire. At the same time, she felt something gently hit her arm, like someone cast a spell on her…

She looked at where Tom was and watched the hem of his robe swish out of sight.

Smiling, she softly said, "Thank you, Tom,"


	5. Everything That Seems to Be

_Chapter 5:_

She was seated there, flipping through each book quietly in search for facts for her next assignment. She neatly stacked one book after another in another pile before proceeding onto the mound of books awaiting to be opened and read. Tom swiftly walked between the bookshelves, spying on her between books, observing her every action.

The nape of her neck... It was so delicate... So vulnerable... With a mere flick of a wand and a choice spell, he could simply break it, sending her into the realms of death. It was too easy... Yet, he chose to flip through books, casually looking at her through the corner of his eye. Why he was feeling this way... He did not know. He never felt any positive emotions before. Happiness was replaced by the accomplished feeling of revenge, care was replaced by spite, joy was replaced by hate. All he ever felt for was hate, anger and despise, butnever like this before...

Closing the book quietly, he shelved it back into place ashe quietly walked towards her, hand out reached, in want for that touch on her warm neck. Part of him just wanted to break it for the humiliation she had caused him, part of him wanted to stroke it, to caress her neck, to comfort her for the lack of moral support and friends.He had never noticed anyone's neck before, neither did he notice any other female's appearance despite the many attempts Lestrange had tried at flirting with him.

Before those aristocratic yet deadly fingers could come into contact with what they really wanted, he paused. The moment of want and tenderness was gone as quickly as it came and was replaced by a sneer.

_I'm the Slytherin King. She's a miserly Mudblood, a pathetic little Ravenclaw, not worthy of **my** attention._

With that, he withdrew his hand and briskly (yet stiffly) walked out of the library, coldly noticing that Anna still didn't look up from her books to know or to notice that he was there.

* * *

Tom Riddle walked to the lake, sitting down on the lush green grass and staring at the sun set, thinking of ways to pulverise the fabric of time and make sun rises and sun sets extinct.

"It's beautiful isn't it..." Came a voice as he felt someone settle next to him.

Anna gazed dreamilyat the conflagration of pink and orange as the sun sank into the horizon lazily.

No, its a frivolous waste of time for the sun to rise and set and I was trying to think of a way to stop it from happening until you came in, he wanted to snap.

"It is," he said instead, feeling extremely uncomfortable sitting next to her.

_It's not as if she's going to kill me, is she?_

On hearing his agreement, she looked at him and grinned, before quickly withrdrawing her gaze back to the sunset.

"My parents used to bring me to Australia to holiday. There at Margaret's River... Well, the sunsets are exceptionally beautiful. Its all pink, especially when it sets behind the lake next to the wineries,"

Tom winced.

"What about you?" she asked, looking at him.

He kept quiet momentarily, before saying stiffly, "I have no parents. I was brought up in an orphanage,"

"Oh, I- I didn't mean to... I'm sorr-"

"It doesn't matter. I never knew who they were anyway," he lied, dusting his hands on his robes.

"Oh..." she said, before looking back at the setting sun.

He looked down at her hand which was resting right next to his, looking at those short, ugly, bitten nails.

On seeing this, she laughed, saying, "A habit that never fails to take place daily no matter how short my nails can get," she said, looking at her nails, "They look rather ugly, don't they?"

Tom kept mute.

She went on about how the habit started when she was five. Her mother tried all sorts of methods to stop her which only worked for a few months before she came to Hogwarts where she started all over again. She went on about her hamster she kept at home and about how her mother got angry at her for no reason sometimes. Although he gave short and kurt replies, he mused to himself on the inside, finding her rare chatter enjoyable one. She seldomly opened up like this. Always the quiet Anna...

"Oh snap! I've got to go," she said, glancing at her watch.

As she stood up quickly, he unknowingly stood up with her too, causing her to bump into his head.

"Ouch...!" she said, painfully rubbing the appearing bruise on her forehead, "I'm really sorry!" she said, gathering the books she had spilled on the grass, "But I really have to go! I promised Victoria I would meet her at five thirty! It's five forty now," she said despairingly before she ran back to the castle, bag half slung over her shoulders and banging against her back as she took each step.

He watched with amusement, seeing her stumble occasionally. Something black on the floor caught his eye. It was a_ book_. Or more precise, a _diary._

He picked it up and got ready to shout for her, only to see her the last of her billowing robe swish back into the castle. He looked at it with interest. Should he have given it back to her? What was written inside? What was she actually experiencing inside her? Did she write anything about others? About _him? _

Questions exploded in his mind as he tried to flip the book open. The pages wouldn't budge to reveal whatever was confided in it.

"Hey Tom!" Rudolphus shouted from afar as the group of soon-to-be death eaters approached him.

Tom hastily slipped the diary into his pocket, determined to keep to himself about what he had found...

**Author's note to readers: **Pretty boring chapter ehh? Well the story needs developement. I've seen the stats for this fic and I plead to all my readers who have put me on alert/favourites to drop a review, one which will help me improve on my writing. Thank you...

Sincerely, thechosenMay


	6. Infuriating Situations

_Chapter 6:_

The diary sat in front of him on his table, staring at him, taunting him to open it.

_Should I?? Lee seems to trust me… _he thought to himself.

**_You should! _**Came a snarling voice in his head, **_all that she's doing now, it's all an act! You will know once you read that book!_**

_NO Tom!! _Came the other voice in his head, _she trusts you! You need to trust her back! _

Tom frustratedly took the book and flipped it open.

_Dear Diary,_

_We had a Hogsmead trip today. Such trips aren't exactly happy ones for me. I usually spend my time studying in the library or something. But that day, I was so freaking pissed with a certain prefect that I decided to blow my gold on stuff that made me happy. I took alcohol. I don't know! My feet just brought me to that Hogshead Inn and… I don't know why but… I asked for a firewhisky, and that grumpy bartender just gave me a gigantic mug. _

Tom mused to himself. _She? _Take _alcohol?! _Then he thought, wasn't that prefect him? He was the only prefect in the whole school she detested.

_Dear Diary,_

_Being flustered is one thing. Dumb teachers are picking on me, and so is a particular irresponsible prefect. I just feel like pulverizing the living daylights out of him. That stupid, incorrigible, unscrupulous, corrupted prefect-_

Those words rang in his ears with familiarity. His face was now contorted in anger as he flipped through the pages with much vigour, catching particular phrases and sentences that just seemed to bold themselves and pop out into his face.

…_stupid prefect did it again…_

…_hope a teacher will have the guts to pluck it off his stupid chest…_

…_who does he think he is…_

…_throwing his weight around…_

…_only saved me because he probably felt threatened…_

… _**He's TOM RIDDLE…**_

Tom snapped the book shut, face red with anger.

I'll show her… I'll show her, to write about me… That filthy mudblood, how dare she?! She's not worthy of my affections…

**BORDER BORDER BORDER.**

She was there, standing under the oak tree facing the lake. The wind played with the stray wisps of hair that escaped her tight braid. Tom saw this as started to walk towards her, the walk turned into a brisk one, which changed into a fast sprint, fuelled with his anger.

"You!" he snarled upon reaching her, seizing her collar and turning her around roughly to face him.

She looked at him with bewilderment, "What?"

"This!" he snarled, holding up the book for her to see.

"What! That's my diary!" she shouted, making an effort to grab it.

Tom held up the book high. Being taller than her, she was not able to get it, no matter how high she jumped.

After her last desperate stab at getting the book back, she clenched her jaw.

_She looks so different when she's angry…_

Then she hit him on his chest.

He looked at her without even flinching, eyebrows raised.

She hit him again. She looked at him in horror. Either his cronie was some sort of sissy who cringed at her blow, or this person was tougher than he looked.

A flurry of sharp stinging slaps and blow pummeled his chest, him still holding her diary high up.

"GIVE-" _hit_ "ME-" _punch_ "BACK-" _slap_ "MY-" _whack_ "DIARY!!"

A smirk flittered across his face. Anna knew she was at a loss. He domineered over her with his height and everything. Whatever pain she caused did not seem to hurt him.

"You are- You-You-!" she stuttered.

"I- I- I-?" he said back at her, smirk getting broader, and broader.

She fumed silently, before giving the situation one last stab. She held out her hand in front of Tom (which had now taken on a reddish hue).

"Please, may I have my diary back?" she asked, voice clearly being controlled.

With a satisfied smirk, he brought the diary down and gave it to her.

Snatching it from him, she walked away. She wanted to retort something at him… Something… She then stuck out her tongue at him and walked away, muttering to herself.

As she walked away, she heard his contemptuous laugh trailing her from behind.

AN: To all the wonderful people who have put me on chapter alert/favourite list and those who continuously review me, I'm so sorry for not updating in eons! Well, sorry again for the short chapter! Its really short and boring. I know! But please, you need to understand! We need this for the build up. The next chapter will be posted very soon now that my major exams are over. Yes! Thank you thank you thank you!


	7. What's Mine stays Mine

_Chapter 7:_

Weeks passed without any particular commotion, with Anna and Tom exchanging mere glances from afar. Anna spent more and more time with her Ravenclaw friends despite maintaining a distance. She refused to sit with anyone of them, determined to focus on her work. Pushing her dark bangs away from her eyes, she scribbled furiously across her parchment. All this while... she never realized a certain Slytherin watching her...

"So... which came first. The Basilisk.. or the egg?" asked a slightly amused voice.

Carri-Anna looked up from her essay, peering above her black framed glasses and met a pair of gorgeous green eyes. She looked back at her parchment which was headed, The History of the Basilisk, before looking back at the suave young individual.

"Oh..." she said, shocked and removing her glasses, "It's for...you know," she stumbled, "Defence agsainst the dark arts..." she said.

"Yeah... I know... I did that in my fifth year," he said before pulling out a seat opposite her. "Do you mind?"

"No no, be my guest," she said, trying to keep her cool while sweeping her text books, quills and parchment to one side.

This turned out to be a rather bad move as he was in full view of her and her extremely bright face.

"Anna..." he muttered as he looked at one of her books with interest.

"Yeah?" she said, subconsciously looking around, "Oh... yeah my name's Anna," she said softly on learning it was he who had muttered her name before looking back down at her essay.

"And mine's Jonathan," he said, smiling at her.

She knew. He was one of those at Hogwarts whose features had stood out most prominently. She looked up and saw his badge. A prefect from Gryffindor. She looked away, unknowingly adjusting her fringe.

He laughed when he saw her flustered actions, saying, "You must be wondering why I come to you out of the blue just to ask you that commonly mind setting question,"

She looked at him with confusion, her mouth opened although silence ensued. Deciding to wrap up her essay to escape further embarrassment, she reached to the far end of the table to grab her text book.

"I could be here to tell you, that you are the new Ravenclaw prefect..."

She fell off her chair.

He laughed and rushed to her side to help her up, his face mere centimetres away from hers.

"...or I could tell you I came here on my own free will," he said in a soft yet serious voice.

Catching sight of a twinkle in his eye, she quickly pulled away, even more flustered at the thoughts that had raced through her mind.

"I'll uhh... meet Professor Flitwick tomorrow or something," she said, quickly gathering her belongings, dropping a few along the way.

He picked them up for her and set them on her arms before walking away, turning around before he finally walked out, "Think about what I've said,".

Arms still laden with many useless textbooks, she stood there, still facing the library doors, frozen to the spot.

"Yeah... I- I will..."

There and then, at the corner of the library, a certain pair of onyx coloured snake like eyes watched this entire affair, before shutting the book that he held close with his aristocratic hands.

* * *

"Professor Fliwick..." Anna said after class the next day. 

"Ahh... Miss lee..." he said, jumping down from his pile of books and landing next to Anna, " Mr Bennet must have brought you the news. Good or bad, that's rather much up to you to think it..." he said rather absent mindedly.

"Yes... but, isn't it late to promote me to a prefect? I mean, what about Janet Harrison, or...Davies?"

" I am afraid to say that Mr Davies' character turned out most unsuited for the role of a prefect,"

She wasn't very much surprised as Ben had changed drastically.

"Oh... alright then," she said, "Thank you," she mumbled, before hastily adding, "Professor,"

"Wait," he said, before summoning a badge into his hands, "Here is your badge," and pressed it into her hand before he left her.

She stared down at the shiny badge that bore the word: PREFECT on it with the Ravenclaw insignia. Pinning the badge to her chest, a mixture of feelings overwhelmed her. She was a prefect, a bloody prefect. Thoughts raced through her mind but one that stood out the most was that Tom Riddle could not push her around anymore...

* * *

The corridor was empty and only the sounds of Anna's shoes were heard across the cold stone floor. He noted everything about her. Her attitude, her poise, her now proud air she carried herself with. 

"So," came a voice, "You're a prefect now," it said coldly.

She whipped around and saw Tom standing in the shadows with a foot plastered on the wall in a casual fashion. This was the first time in a month he spoke to her directly. Everytime she saw him, she just couldn't control her emotions... those emotions she herself who felt it couldn't understand...

Not bothering to wait for her reply, he said, "Don't expect royal treatment," before walking off in his usual elegant, yet haughty manner.

* * *

"Hey! Hey Lee!" Jonathan shouted after her. On catching up with her, he said, "Girl, do you have to walk that fast?" 

"Oh," she said, looking up to see a panting Jonathan, "I'm sorry, it's just that these," she said while growing red, looking away and waving her returned worksheet at him.

"Yeah, I understand," he said, still panting, "Look, we prefects have to do duties around the school which involve putting Christmas decorations too. You have to do the entire Great Hall with Tom Riddle from Slytherin,"

She winced involuntarily, before saying, "Yeah, I know. I'm actually heading there now," controlling the urge to add 'if you haven't noticed'.

He laughed before saying seriously, "I've seen the hostile way he's treated you,"

"Yeah well, I-"

He cut her off there, saying, "Look, I can handle him for you if you like,"

"No!" she shouted, "I mean, no that wouldn't be neccesary, thanks," she said, her face turning a deeper shade of red.

The last thing she needed was Tom thinking she was attached to someone he really loathed.

"I'll walk you to the Great Hall anyway," he said somewhat forcefully.

On getting there, Tom told her what she had to do without even glancing at Jonathan. Put holly on the walls, wind tinsel onto the bench stands, put up the tree, set the poinsettias, clean all the tables, hang the baubles... there and then, she felt like a slave. She wasn't really listening to Tom, no. She looked around the entire hall, shocked that only two people had to complete this within a week, or even less... She was brought back to reality as Tom shoved some green coloured decorations into her hand, telling her coldy to hasten her pace.

On her leave, Tom turned to Jonathan, hissing, "What are you doing here,"

"Making sure you don't ill treat her," Jonathan said coldly as he grabbed a few poinsettias to join Anna.

Tom narrowed his eyes at the two of them hanging the decorations on the large tree. He always got what he wanted, and Anna was not an exception...

* * *

AN: I'm sincerely sorry for the long wait ! Please let me know what you think of this chapter. I find it rather boring as there wasn't much interaction between our main two characters. It's up to you! And if you don't mind, to help me through my writers block, drop me a few suggestions along the review line. Thanks so much!

thechosenMay


	8. Wrong Choices

_Chapter 8:_

Anna entered the very empty library, arms laden with a large cardboard box full of Christmas decorations, setting it down noisily on the nearest table. She wiped her brows and looked around.

"Empty," she breathed, "Wonder where he is," she said.

Walking around the vast collection of books, she tried looking for Tom.

"Boo!" she said, jumping out only to face an empty space.

Feeling silly and bewildered, she carried on walking in search for him.

A flurry of movement caught her attention in the restricted section. Grasping the metal grilles gently and placing her face between two, she cautiously looked around. She rarely saw teachers in here, in fact, she never saw teachers in here. She peered around.

"Tom!" she gasped as she caught him hurriedly thumbing through a book. A book by no means meant for the eyes of a mere sixteen year old…

He whipped around, eyes boring through her with anger as he quickly shut the book and shoved it back into the shelf, picking his bag from the floor and rushing out of the restricted section.

He opened the door and closed the forbidding gate quietly but by no means gently. Stopping to glare at her, vicious words hanging between his teeth and lips, as if ready to pounce at her. She cowered under his glare after moments of defiance. On seeing this, he took his chance with her.

"You will not repeat what you have just witnessed to anyone," he hissed in a dangerous yet soft manner, slowly pacing towards her as she paced back too, "You are a junior prefect, and the teachers will act upon my word as head boy,"

Her head hit the wall faster than she feared.

"Say anything about this, and I'll be taking more from you than that prefect's badge," he stated cruelly, his nose barely touching hers.

He looked at her eyes that exuded more shock than fear, then at her nose, and lastly at her mouth. All he had to do was to lean forward a little and bend his head…

He moved forward, causing a sudden intake of her breath, and her turning her head slightly to the side, shutting her eyes tight. Closing his eyes in frustration and inhaling a deep breath, he clenched his fist to control himself. Am I that detestable in her eyes? he thought.

"Do you understand?" he asked again, in his soft voice only audible for her ears and her ears only.

She nodded quickly, as if wishing him away with every nod.

Looking back at her eyes that were now fearfully shut tight, he looked back at her lips again. Something more than anger pricked his heart… was it hurt? He straightened his back, causing Anna to sense his withdrawal. Opening her eyes slowly to look at him with slightly teary eyes and a stammering chest, he turned on his heel and walked off, causing her to fall to the floor in a moment of weakness.

**

* * *

**

The dark shadows danced across the dimly lighted surroundings as whispers were heard all over. A ghostly shade of green settled around the place, giving the Victorian building an eerie touch to it altogether. Lord Voldemort twirled his wand elegantly with an aura of anguish as he sat on his supposed throne which was at the front of a great hall. He swished it once in a while without muttering anything as the ghostly apparition of a beautiful young lady with a single French braid down her back appeared in thin air, appearing to be laughing innocently, then fading away as the spell expired.

_The death eaters bustled about with their plans. Some supervised, some did the dirty work. Once in a while, on would apparate back into the existence of the abandoned manor. The death eaters that walked by, praying to go by unharmed or uninterrogated, were lucky. These few days, their precious Lord had been doing the same thing, over and over and over again… Who that girl was, they had absolutely no clue…_

_He swished his wand downwards again, bringing the image back to life._

_Something slid down Lord Voldemort's face… so silently, yet so swiftly… Was it a tear? How could the most feared wizard of all time be crying at a time like this? He flicked his wand yet again, summoning the ghost of a butterfly to relive the moment. _

_He allowed the butterfly to fly around her. She pointed to it and looked to her right, lips moving as if she were talking to a person. With that, she quickly made a turn and tried to catch the butterfly. This time, the silent girl's laughter echoed. Not through the manor, but in his ears… How he yearned to hear her laughter all over again… She jumped and made a wild grab at the butterfly, causing her to trip and fall._

_He allowed his younger self to intrude on the scene, rushing to her side as he did forty years ago. He surveyed his appearance. Hair that was wavy… High nose bridge… Piercing black eyes… A certain charm around him… Looking at himself in a mirror that stood inconspicuously against the wall, all he saw was a horribly disfigured human being. Long nails, a bald head, pale skin, crimson eyes… Then he thought to himself, would she have loved me if she saw me like this?_

_His breaths grew angrier and angrier as he stared at himself with anger and self hatred. Screaming loudly, he pointed his wand at the mirror, shattering it into a thousand pieces, leaving the broken shards on the floor. The ghostly apparitions faded away soon after he blasted the mirror apart. Swishing his wand with more vehemence needed, he conjured the image of her again. He was immediately calmed down and his breathing did so, as if the image of her was a drug to soothe all his anger and pain._

_Lucius Malfoy entered the room, stopping momentarily as he saw his master caress the apparition's face as she laughed at something to her left, clapping her hands, as if asking for more._

"_My lord…" he interrupted._

_Voldemort's face snapped up, his emotionless face now snarled with anger as the apparition quickly burst into a dust like substance and blown away by a draft. _

"_What is it?" he hissed._

"_The plans have been made ready, my lord,"_

"_Goood…" he hissed yet again, "Do not fail me again, Malfoy…"_

"_Yes, my lord. We won't consent to failure,"_

_He was going to make them pay for what they did to him…_

_After Malfoy took his leave, Voldemort summoned the apparition again, looking at her happy and innocent face, allowing another tear to fall freely… Each time it faded away, he would conjure it, over and over again… Why had she pushed her luck with him? Why did she force him to do it? Why did she force his hand?_

"_Why Anna… why did you do it…?" he whispered, his breaths unsteady and shaken._

* * *

_AN: I realized my story was getting kind of boring, but you must know that this is essential for the build up. If you were wondering why I am updating so frequently now, its because of a sudden burst of inspiration. Please do not give me honeyed reviews, I need one that will help me improve my fic entirely. Thank you._

_Sincerely,_

_thechosenMay_


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